Roadie Rides A Squishy Bike...LOVES IT!

As a kid I loved riding my BMX bike and at one point, me and some of the kids in the neighborhood built a modest BMX park. There were a couple jumps, burms and one drop-in; nothing serious. The most lasting impression of that early foray into "cycling" was the fun we had. Fun building the park. Fun riding in the dirt. Fun talking about bikes. Fun being kids. The simple, uncomplicated sensation of just riding my bike...on dirt, jumping stuff, bunny hopping, was unbridled in its simplicity. And now, it's how I remember the feeling of being a kid.

Anyway, a few years ago, the road bike bug bit me really hard and this year I had a solid race season that started in January and ended in late August. Road riding and racing for me has been a great experience and I'm happy to have the ability to ride my bike and race my bike. But at times, the excitement of just going for a ride gets lost in intervals, heart rate, hill repeats, and sticking to a training plan six days a week.

Over the last few weeks, this feeling was heavier than its been and I knew that I needed to mix up my riding and training to maintain my focus...in come the mountain bikes. Last month, my friend let me borrow his Yeti ARC and a little while later, the Sports Arena store got a demo 2011 Stumpjumper HT 29er that I rode for a while. Both bikes immediately rekindled that feeling I had as a kid riding my bike... it was fun.

This morning, Leo showed me Sycamore Canyon and I rode our EPIC 29er full-suspension rental bike and it was the first real ride that I've done on a mountain bike and I'm still having a hard time putting how much fun I had into words. I was out there, jumping over "stuff", rolling over rocks and tree roots and just riding for the sake of riding a bike for fun.

I won't be giving up my road bike any time soon (or letting my leg hair grow back) but ever since we got back from the ride today, the only thing I can think about is which 29er mountain bike to buy. Right now, I'm leaning toward the Epic Expert EVO R 29er or the Epic Expert Carbon 29er (any input from the readers is more than welcomed). Either way, I can't wait to go back and play in the dirt.

Some times, change can be good. Or, in this case, great.

Thanks for reading!

Ride safe,
Hubert (B+L Bikes Sports Arena)

Mark's New Roubaix SL2

We built up Mark's new Roubaix today at the Sports Arena shop and wanted to share it with our readers.

The build is:

54cm SL2 Roubaix Frame
Ultegra cranks
Dura Ace Front Der
Ultegra Rear Der
Ultegra Brakes
Mavic K10 wheelset and tires
S-Works carbon bar and stem
Time RXS Carbon Pedals





Congrats on the new bike Mark!

Ride safe,
B+L Bikes

Giant Gecko Invades the Sports Arena Store...

...not really. But we did get a fresh shipment of Arundel's awesome Gecko bar tape.



The shop crew has been riding this tape for a while and we all love it. The density of the tape feels very similar to cork tape, but the Gecko tape adds a layer of textured polyurethane that gives the tape a great tactile feel and helps prevent your hands from slipping.

The feel of this tape makes this tape an excellent choice for riders who prefer to ride without gloves and, when we do get rained on, it'll feel much less slippery than Fizik microtex tape (which has been my go-to tape for years).

The only real downside to the Gecko tape is that the white tape does get dirty more quickly than other brands of white tape I've tried, but the feel of the tape more than outweighs this minor issue - which a soapy rag will solve anyway.

So, come on in and give the Gecko tape a feel and try a roll for yourself.

Thanks again for reading.

Ride Safe,
BL Bikes

Sunday Ride...

The inaugural Sunday ride was yesterday and we had a small group show up (Jamie, Nate, Steve, Leo and myself). The ride went well for all and I'm hoping to get a GPS for the next ride to log our vertical feet and distance. See you all on Sunday.

Thanks for reading.

Ride safe,
Hubert

Knight Rider is at Sports Arena...

...not THAT Knight Rider, though.


The inevitable shortening of daylight is coming and with that we'd like to introduce the new Nightrider lights, the Lightening Bug 3.0 and the Stinger Tail light.



The headlight features three LED bulbs and three modes; a high beam, low beam, and flashing. The tail light has one 0.5 watt LED and has two modes (an alternating flashing mode and a constant mode).

Install is supppppppppeeeerrrr easy and the battery is also easily accessed through a flap that opens up. Neither require any tools.

The combo headlight + tail light (pictured) is $39.99 and the lights sell for $19.99 individually.

Personally, I've tried various small lights and the new NightRider lights strike a perfect balance between ease of use, size and illumination. Don't get caught in the dark without 'em.

Thanks for reading.

Ride Safe,
B&L Bikes

Sunday Ride?

Looking for a Sunday ride? Well, you're in luck, because we're looking to start a Sunday shop ride here at the Sports Arena store.

Currently, the ride would focus on climbing and the (tentative) plan is to leave from the shop at 8am and head towards Mt. Soledad. We'd ascend either Soladad Mt. Road, Cardeno or La Jolla Mesa. Then we'd drop down into La Jolla and go up Hillside (maybe Country Club if we're frisky) and then drop down Via Capri toward Torrey Pines Scenic (we'd alternate between Scenic and going up past Scripps, depending on how strong our Jens Voigt juju is (i.e., being able to say "Shut Up Legs!"). We'd then head northwest toward Torrey Pines where we'd do two ascents up the inside before heading home along the outside. Total ride time would be ~ 3 hours (longer if we decide to stop for coffee in Birdrock) and the pace will be tempo. We will regroup at the tops of the climbs but the goal will be to keep this ride moving along as best as we can.

If there's enough interest, we'd love to host this ride as it'll give those who have to work on Sunday the opportunity to get in a decent ride before work without having to rush to the shop or cut the workout short.

The only question is...who's in?

Email hubert@blbikes.com to express your interest or to share your route ideas.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Ride safe,

B+L Bikes

It's Labor Day. We're Open!!!

Hello from B&L Sports Arena. Just a quick post to let you all know that we're open today (Labor Day) 'til 5pm.

So...if you're out and about, stop by and say "Hello."

Otherwise, have a great holiday.

Ride safe,

B&L Bikes

Jim Vance Swim Clinic Redux...

The Jim Vance Swim Clinic hosted by the Sports Arena store on August 30th was a great success. We had a great turnout (75+) with pizza, refreshments, a great presentation and O&A session by Coach Vance rounding out the night.

We decided to put icing on the cake by raffling off some choice schwag, giving our guests the chance to go home with some awesome Specialized, Zoot, and Hammer Nutrition goodies. Up for offer were floor pumps, socks, swim caps, travel bags, HEED energy drink, and a pair of S-Works Shoes!!! We hope the lucky winners are enjoying their prizes.

Thanks again to everyone who attended and everyone who helped organize, plan, and publicize the event. We really enjoyed hosting everyone and look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Pictures from the event follow below...
























Ride safe,

B+L Bikes